Ulster County lawmakers are urged to establish gun safety courses

By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE

Friday, February 15, 2013

KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Ulster County lawmakers are being asked to offer gun safety courses along with a proposal to form a county Public Safety Advisory Committee that would investigate the connection between crime and mental health issues, substance abuse and drug-related violence.

At a caucus of Republican county lawmakers on Tuesday, Ken Cooper, a weapons trainer and security director at Bard College, suggested training programs be established to make people aware of the proper handling of firearms.

"I've been involved in this county for many, many years as a trainer," Cooper said, adding that people who carry guns for self-protection must understand laws governing use of force.

Cooper runs THT of New York, a Kingston-based business formerly known as Tactical Handgun Training.

"Through education, people learn to trust gun owners," he said. "They don't trust people who aren't police officers because they figure (only) police officers are all trained."

Cooper said attitudes about weapons and the people who own them need to change.

"I'm not a gun nut, I'm a gun trainer," he said. "But more than guns, I'm a tactical trainer. I deal with education, using the power of the mind to overcome things. A gun is just one of the tools. I'm a chemical deterrents instructor, a taser, a baton instructor ... but it all deals with safety."

County Legislature Chairwoman Terry Bernardo said the information could be used by the proposed committee.

"We are going to be (considering) a resolution ... creating a committee that will be looking at violence," Bernardo, R-Accord, told Cooper. "You could be a great resource."

The resolution authorizing the committee cited "seven separate incidences of mass shootings in the United Sates (in 2012), which was the highest in recent history."

The resolution says that "substance abuse continues to be a prevalent issue in Ulster County, and our prison population continues to demonstrate the strong connection between crime and drug dependence."

The proposed 11-member committee would consist of the county Legislature chair, a county Social Services Committee member, a Health and Personnel Committee member, a Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee member, an Ulster County Supervisors Association representative, a school district superintendent, an Ulster County Police Chiefs Association representative, two people with mental health backgrounds and two county residents.